Hà Nội stops plant care, saves $31m

Hà Nội administration has decided to stop spending its budget on trimming grass and flowers across the city, excluding several flower gardens around Hoàn Kiếm Lake.— Photo vietnamnet.vn

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội administration has decided to stop spending its budget on trimming grass and flowers across the city, excluding several flower gardens around Hoàn Kiếm Lake.

The move is expected to help the city save about VNĐ700 billion (US$31.4 million) each year, said chairman of the capital People’s Committee Nguyễn Đức Chung when meeting voters of Hoàn Kiếm District on Monday.

Expenses for cutting grass and trimming flowers each year were very wasteful. For example, it costs up to VNĐ53 billion ($2.3 million) to cut grass and hibiscus flowers along 24 kilometres of Thăng Long Avenue per year.

“It is unacceptable,” he said.

Chung said the city administration had ordered all districts to not grow flowers starting from July 01.

According to Chung, in other countries, they often planted trees instead of flowers.

In a related move, Hà Nội scheduled the plantation of 45,000 trees along Thăng Long Avenue in the near future. At first, about 20,000 palm trees would be planted.

The tree-planting would make the city greener from Ba Vì District to the National Convention Centre, he said.

The capital hopes to create visible changes in tree management in 12 inner districts, including a plan to plant one million trees by 2020. To reach the goal, the city has consulted scientists and relevant agencies about the types of trees that should be grown in the city, including flamboyant (Delonix regia), queen’s flower (Lagerstroemia speciosa),and dracontomelon (Dracontomelon duperreanum).

Thăng Long Avenue, or Láng- Hòa Lạc Highway, located west of the city, links the city centre to the former Highway 21A, which is now the starting point of the Hồ Chí Minh Highway.

It also connects Hà Nội’s inner areas with satellite urban areas, such as Xuân Mai, Sơn Tây and other localities. The avenue is 30km long and 140m wide, with six lanes for vehicles. —VNS